On March 16, ultrarunner Karl Meltzer will be at Runners Roost at Colorado Boulevard and Interstate 25 to launch the Wings for Life World Run, a fundraiser May 4 to help find a cure for spinal cord injuries — with Denver as one of only three participating U.S. cities.

Ultrarunner Karl Meltzer has been an inspiration for many a runner. (Associated Press file photo)

The free March 16 Runners Roost event starts at 4:15 p.m. and will include refreshments after the run, as well as a Q&A with Meltzer. In addition, Hoka will be on hand to offer demo running shoes.

The next day, March 17 at 2 p.m., SCI Recovery Project (866 E. 78th Ave.) will host Meltzer, along with Olympic bronze medalist Nick Goeper, pro snowboarder and X Games champ Louie Vitto and pro skier and X Games champ Grete Eliassen, for a training run and a meet-and-greet, alongside locals living with spinal cord injuries.

On March 18, Loveland Ski Area will offer Wings for Life World Run Ski Day, with Goeper, Vitto and Eliassen, who will ski and board with folks at the area.

Wings for Life World Run is a simultaneous global race with a moving finish line — it will be held in 37 global cities, but only 3 in the United States will host: Denver, Santa Clarita, Calif., and Sunrise, Fla.

The way the race works is that a “catcher car” pursues the participants from behind. When the car “catches” a runner, his or her races is over, he or she boards a bus to join a celebration, and then the car keeps going until one winner is declared. The race is 100 percent underwritten by Red Bull, so all entry fees ($50 per runner) go toward spinal cord research.

Kyle Wagner is the editor of the Travel and Fitness sections at The Denver Post.

Running can be as simple as pulling on a pair of shoes and putting one foot in front of the other as fast as you can until you can no more, or as complicated as weighing the merits of leaving off those shoes, pondering why we run or where to run or how to run — or whether to run at all.

There are almost as many books on running as there are running shoes. (Photo by Seth A. McConnell, Your Hub)

Google “books on running” and more than 1.14 billion results come back in 0.38 seconds, references to the many tomes dedicated in varying degrees to one or all of those questions.

They are written by runners and non-runners alike: new runners, reluctant runners, ultra runners, weekend runners, injured runners, you name it — and as someone who has been some of those things at one point or at least obsessed with the idea (that would be ultra), I find that reading about running is just as fascinating, and leaves me a lot less sore.

Here are four released this year that I plan to give to fellow runners this holiday:

Thousands more had turned out to cheer for this fourth annual race, which found Coloradans dominating all categories – Tommy Dialynas took the title in 2:27:39, while Nicole Chyr won the women’s in 2:51:08; Jeremy Freed won the half at 1:08;34 and Lidia Simon was women’s half winner at 1:18:01 – and the cold temperatures holding off until the end. We wound up very much needing the silver-coated plastic banners that were helpfully provided as shoulder wraps at the finish line to stave off hypothermia.

Add some uplifting live music along the way – bummer that only one band had its name displayed, so who knows who they all were? – along with some outstanding and efficient work by a few thousand volunteers, and this was one truly well-orchestrated event.

One minute, you’re all runner’s high from just having finished the half-marathon, or even the whole 26.2-mile enchi-torture-lada.

Martina Young contemplates a swim. (Provided by Martina Young)

But the next minute – and this might actually be a few hours later, the next day or even a few days following the big run – you feel like someone dropped a truckload of running shoes on your head, boxes and all, along with the truck.

All kinds of books about running have found their way to my desk this summer. Most have been about the how-to-be-a-better-runner mechanics of the thing.

Although, some of them have been thought provoking none of them have actually made me a better runner. Dang it. Others have touched on running in a deeper, more heart felt way, addressing the bigger question. Why?

Two amazing books recently turned me into a vegan, and that’s a bold statement from a serious bacon addict (not to mention cheese, eggs, the occasional foie gras, and did I mention bacon?) who also needed a twice-a-day grande latte fix.

About six weeks ago I devoured “Finding Ultra” by Rich Roll, considered to be one of the 25 fittest men on the planet. His tale is compelling: He went from being a drug addict and alcoholic who pretty much lived on cheeseburgers and was nearly 50 pounds overweight and unable to climb the stairs without wheezing to completing the Epic5, which is five Ironman competitions in less than a week, most of it after the age of 40. The kicker: He did it all as a vegan.

Pretty impressive. But it’s not just the competition aspect that makes the case for going to an entirely plant-based diet. What Roll does throughout the book is make following a vegan diet sound so lovely. He talks about how he not only lost the weight, but also just feels better. Sleeps better. Doesn’t have those aches and pains, bloating, crankiness, mood swings and other physical issues as he gets older.

So I thought, OK, I’ll take that challenge. I’ll do it for a month, and see how it goes.

The topics? Well, ultramarathons, for sure. But also the vegan diet. Food is fuel for serious athletes, and relatively few have yet given the heave-ho to animal products like cheese, meat and eggs. Jurek is one of the more high-profile athlete vegans.

Training for your first tri? Got questions about running during pregnancy? Need diabetic fueling strategies for a marathon? Want to know what comes next after you’ve bought your first pair of running shoes? Heartbroken after a break up with your running partner?

Ask Coach Jenny!

Coach Jenny

Runners love Coach Jenny because her answers are drawn from a deep well of wisdom rooted in her own struggles. Once upon a time Coach Jenny couldn’t run around the block without bursting into tears. Her big dream was to lose thirty pounds and run a 5k race.

The pursuit of a healthier state through better living. The Denver Post's ColoradoFit blog features local experts on the latest fitness trends, active lifestyles and nutrition options in Colorado and beyond.